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High speed grinder into buffer???

John Torchick

John Torchick

Joined
Jan 24, 2010
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Cleveland, Tennessee
I have a high speed grinder that hasn't been used since I got my low speed Rikon grinder. I was thinking of taking the grinding wheels off and getting a couple of cloth buffing wheels. Is the 3250 rpm too high for buffing? May buff but not let the wood get too hot from friction? Your help is appreciated.
 
John Torchick said:
I have a high speed grinder that hasn't been used since I got my low speed Rikon grinder. I was thinking of taking the grinding wheels off and getting a couple of cloth buffing wheels. Is the 3250 rpm too high for buffing? May buff but not let the wood get too hot from friction? Your help is appreciated.
Click to expand...

IMHO, it would be too fast. My buffing wheels mount to the headstock and I generally run the lathe at a few hundred RPM when polishing and buffing.
 
I buff a lot slower than most people. I use my lathe and use 4" wheels instead of 8" so my surface feet alone are much slower than most. I run the lathe around 1800 rpm or so. The problem with buffing at too high a surface speed is you burn through a lot of finishes. Lacquer and shellac are particularly bad about this. I would try to go with a slower speed if it was me.
 
Well, even a low speed grinder would be 1000 rpm more than I buff at, that would be 2500ish more.
You would fill the air with 'buff fluff' at a pretty high rate, and buff catch embellishments would be really deep and probably explosive.
Not the best choice.
 
Thanks for all the info. Guess I'll keep it on the shelf. Use it for lawn mower blades. I could use it for my axe but can't find my hockey mask. :eek:
 
I buff with a high speed grinder without a problem, just make sure you have a good grip on the piece.
 
I always buff on a 6” high speed grinder. Have for years. Works fine. Only buff metal though.
 
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